Thursday,
May 16, 2002
IRWIN NAMED PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACH
Former Blue Hose assistant returns to her alma mater to
take over basketball program
 |
CLINTON,
S.C. —
Leigh A. Irwin, a 1996 Presbyterian College graduate,
has been named as head coach of the Blue Hose women’s
basketball team, college officials announced today. The announcement was made by PC Director of Athletics Valerie Sheley. Irwin succeeds Beth Couture who served as head coach for the last 13 seasons. Couture left PC to become head coach at Butler University. |
“I
am delighted that Coach Irwin accepted the head women’s
basketball coach position at PC,” said Sheley. “Coach
Irwin brings a great deal of PC experience to the table as a
former student-athlete, and as head cross country and
assistant basketball coach. She knows what we expect from our
coaches and athletes and I believe she will lead our program
onward and upward. The team and staff are very excited about welcoming her back
into the fold.”
Irwin,
28, a native of Sandersville, Ga., spent the last year working
at Byrnes High School in Spartanburg, S.C. Prior to her stint
at Byrnes, Irwin spent three years as assistant women’s
basketball coach at Presbyterian College (1998-2001). During
her tenure with the Blue Hose, the program posted a 74-16 mark
including a 37-7 record in South Atlantic Conference action.
In addition, the program posted three straight 20-win seasons
while winning two consecutive South Atlantic Conference
Regular Season and Tournament Titles and advanced to a pair of
NCAA Division II national tournament appearances in 1998-99
and 1999-2000.
During
the 1999-2000 season, the Blue Hose set a new conference mark
with 28 wins against two losses and was ranked as high as
fourth in the NCAA Division II poll. The program was ranked in
the top 25 of the NCAA Division II polls each of the three
years she served as an assistant coach.
“Leigh
was a very successful player and assistant coach at
Presbyterian College and is well liked by everybody on
campus,” said former PC Director of Athletics Cally Gault.
“I feel that she will continue the success the program has
enjoyed under Coach Couture. She is the type of individual
that will be an asset to any program.”
Irwin
also served as head coach of the Presbyterian College Men’s
and Women’s Cross Country program and led the men’s and
women’s teams to their first regional rankings in school
history. The teams also improved from a seventh and eighth
place showings at the 1999 SAC Championships to a program-best
second and third place finishes in 2000. She also coached the
2000 men’s and women’s SAC Runner of the Year selections.
“I
am very excited about Coach Irwin,” said current women’s
basketball player, junior Bonnie Werner. “Having recruited
and coached me for one year already, I am confident she will
continue the success of the PC women’s basketball
program.”
Irwin,
a four-year letterwinner at Presbyterian, helped the Blue Hose
compile a four-year record of 77-36 while making consecutive
trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament in 1993-94
and 1994-95.
“I
look forward to returning to the Presbyterian College
family,” said Irwin. “I am grateful to Dr. John V.
Griffith and Valerie Sheley for the opportunity to be the head
coach of the women’s basketball program. I cannot wait to
begin working with the players and look forward to the
challenge of continuing the rich tradition the women’s
basketball program has enjoyed over the years.”
After
finishing her career at PC, Irwin moved to the sidelines where
she served under Couture as a student assistant coach for one
year. She then took the position of head girl’s basketball
coach at nearby Greenwood (S.C.) High School where the team
reached the second round of the State Playoffs.